A few things about Sicily: charming cities, Greek temples and... dolphins!

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Ciao, people of HIVE!

I’ll be sharing a few posts about a trip to Sicily I took in August 2018.
I left Sardinia by ferry to meet friends in Palermo, and from there we visited Mazara del Vallo, Agrigento with the Scala dei Turchi and the famous Valley of the Temples, as well as Favara, a town known for its artists.

It was a wonderful trip, combining art, history, local culture and more relaxed moments like evenings outdoors and mornings on the beach. The trip lasted almost two weeks, and I took many photos. However, since some time has passed, I might have lost a few and will need to go through the material carefully. For now, I’ll start by sharing how I arrived in Palermo, the island’s capital, along with some photos from the journey.

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Sicily, a special place of my heart

It seems that islands are part of my destiny. While circumstances have led me to spend much of my life in Sardinia, my connection to Sicily runs just deep through blood, since my father is Sicilian. I’ve never lived in Sicily and I've only been there twice, but visiting it is always a powerful emotion. Its vast combination of culture, heritage and traditions is a sweet wealth that accompanies my earthly journey.

Traveling by sea

Watching the sunset from the Sella del Diavolo, a famous spot on the coast of Cagliari.

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Perhaps I haven't had the chance to tell you yet, but I love traveling by ship. It's definitely my favorite way to travel. I think of flying as a way to get from one place to another, while a real journey is a slow path where you watch the landscape change, and you have time to listen to your heart as it dreams of the next destination. I love driving or traveling by train, and I dream of taking a long trip by bike or camper.
With ships, this feeling is amplified because my soul is deeply connected to the sea, and my Mediterranean blood is the blood of some of the greatest navigators in history — Genoese, Venetians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Arabs and Vikings. Moreover, from a practical point of view, I grew up on ships, traveling with my parents several times a year.

I am utterly in love with watching the sunset over the sea, and when it gets dark, I sit at the bar or in the common room, reading a book or meeting new people. I sleep for a few hours in the common area, where solo travelers usually stay, and in the morning, I step outside again to witness the wonder of the sunrise. Look at this spectacle:

As if the play of light between the sky and the sea wasn’t beautiful enough, at one point I was distracted by something moving beneath the surface of the water. Dolphins! They followed the ship for a while, jumping and playing. In that moment, nature struck me with its endless sweetness. I stayed there watching them until they disappeared underwater, and for that entire time, I felt incredibly lucky to be there, and to be alive.

Another thrilling moment is seeing, sooner or later, land appear on the horizon through the morning mist. First, the hills of Sicily, then the port of Palermo, getting closer and closer.

Port of Palermo.

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The countless vicissitudes Sicily has gone through in the last three thousand years of history make it absolutely unique and wonderful in its wealth of cultures, traditions, and influences.

Born as a Phoenician and then Greek colony, Palermo gradually became a cosmopolitan city under the Carthaginians, Romans and Byzantines, before becoming the capital of the Emirate of Sicily during the Arab rule of the island. Later, the Norman and Spanish conquests enriched the Arab influence with Norman and Baroque nuances.
This is the great merit of the island: it has known how to preserve rather than destroy, to embrace rather than deny, and from its experience arise architecture, cuisine, music, language and popular culture that are truly unique in their kind.
Palermo, like other cities, wonderfully embodies the soul of the Mediterranean.

Arab or Norman, or both?

Cattedrale di Palermo.

Teatro Politeama Garibaldi.

Fontana Pretoria.

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This statement can be extended to the entire island, rich in history and natural wonders, ancient and contemporary art, culture and traditions. During my journey, I had the chance to experience each of these aspects and much more.

Temple of Athena, built by the ancient Greeks, in the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento.

Walking along a seaside path, in search of the tomb of a famous writer from the last century.

Murals at the entrance of Farm Cultural Park, the city of artists in the town of Favara.

The Scala dei Turchi (Stair of the Turks) in Agrigento. Nowadays this area is a popular seaside destination, but its name recalls a troubled past, as it was in these calm waters that Saracen and Arab pirates found refuge to attack the island – the reference to the "Turks" is more of a conventional term.

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With this article, which is mostly a general overview, I wanted to let you know that we won’t be talking about Sardinia for a few weeks.
I hope you enjoyed these photos. In the next one, I’ll return to telling you more about Palermo in greater detail, presenting not only its beauties but also a topic that is very dear to all Italians, and one that deserves to reach you no matter where you are in the world.

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Do you like to travel by ship?
Feel free to share your experience, or any similar one, or an emotion that my article has stirred in your heart.

For now, as always, thank you for your time, your attention and your support!

See you soon on the road,

Alessandro

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